Crucible-furnace.



w. s ROCKWELL.

GRUGIBLE FURNACE. APPLICATION FILED JULY 14, 1908.

Patented Oct. 29, 1912.

3 SHEETSSHEET 1.

WITNESSES /1V V E N T OR w Attorney W. S. ROCKWELL.

GRUGIBLE FURNACE.

APPLIGATION FILED JULY 14, 1908.

Patented Oct. 29, 1912,

3 SHEETSSHEET Z I [N VEN 7 0R orney WITNESSES wiiirfnn noonwnnn; or" sense? 'orrr, net-if. JERSEY, ssesses 'ro w. s. O KWELL i I i' GQMBANY, or nnwqrcniz, Y." Y

- criticism-realises.

I i Specification of Letters Patent i 1912 j Appiioation median; 4, 1908. Serial n6. e iaiae all whomiifioay concern; supports the crucible 11, andprei entsthe Be it known that I, WALTER S. ROCKWI$LL,- lower ends of the latter from slidingforf Jersey Cit y,'in the county of Hudson and wardly during the operation of tiitin the State ofNew Jersey, have invent-ed certain furnace. The coinbustion chainher is saw and nsefullmprovements in 'Crucihlenarrower than the crucible chamber S,.and Furnaces; and I- do hereby declare the foiits top projects below the latter thus formlowing to heat fulh'clear, and exact descripinf. together with the walls of the crucible tion of the invention, such as will enable chamber, a support for the entire top of the 'othersskilled in theart to which it anpercrucible wherebv the iatter is h 10 tains tomakewand usethe same. ported while ti "ed; The w-a v hiy invention. relates to-an improvement nace' forming J :support for top of the fro, the corruseries of iiues through The combustion r 7 t its lomgr-end with the lighting opening orniai closed by removable plug 15. v" i p The sheil or" the furnace thus co? structed, s provided as previously enshrined, with he trunnions and in crucible furnaces. the object being to proid.e a furnace forin elting sinaii quan ties of brass and other n etais, so i to practicaiiy,eiiniinate loss z and voiatilization'. 1. a

- iii further object is to provide a furnace of the character described, that will he rable in construction, cos y manipulated crucible,- are co kugated at gations and accessible for repairing. i 4- T he trunnion is With these ends in View my invention conprovided at its outer end with a wormwheel sists inithe parts and combination of parts 15, which meshes with a worm. on shaft 16, andin the details of aonstruction as, will be carrying bevel pinion 1T, meshing with pinmorefuH-y explained and pointed out in the ion 18 on-s t 19, the latter carrying hand 2- claims. wheel 29. *ating hand wheel the fur- ,In the accompanying drawing mice may be ti 1 in a d Lion to dis- 30 :is a View inside-elevation of my charge the context Lilo crucible 11 ifurnace. "Fig. 2 is awiew in elevation at through the .Lischarge opening'il, and by fright angles to Fig; 1. Fig.3 is a plan ie-w. rotating t wheel 90 in the opposite-direc- 30, Fig. 4 isa View iii-vertical section through tion, the i r race will be restored to lts Fig. 2', the supports and pipes being in eiooriginalright position Wat-ion. Fig. 5 is a View in rel ical section The ice trunnion t is hollow for the through Fig.1. Fig, 6 a View in horizonpassa oil supply pipe 22. This pipe ital section, the supports and pipes being in passes in h "T e air supply pipe 23, and.

' n I I s s a :3 1 l r 3 5 elevation and Fig. 7 IS a new in elevation of trunnion and out of the latter lntermedithe burner. I v ate the i" ,rnaozz and hearing 3, as shown in 1 represents an iron base, carryir he up- Fig. 4, e d r thence up to the burner 24, right legs 2 provided at their 1 ier c) the oil n :eing provided with-one or with hearings 3 for the trunnions 4i and more waives tor e ulating the supply of oil so of the/furnace. r to tl e inirner, d also provided at a point This furnace-is printer-ably oblong in cross i the air s pipe 23, orthe hollow section assho'wn in (hand l at one t oint so as to permit side than the-other, formingin (ct a rea 1. ortion of the oil sup i pipe to turn with ceptaole egg shaped in horizontal section, he 1UI1 ce whiie the other part remains e5 fand comprises a bottom 5-, and a staiionncy. r I

shell 6, the ai'ter heing hoited. to c hi. 'i-he air siippiy pipe 23;, which'also leads tom andextendine; up to the top casting t to the burner 24, is prov ded with a slip which it' is bol or riveted. The casing, oint connection at 25 to permit that part of thus constructec, nroridecl with, a double the pipe-which is connected with the burner 50 lining 7 of tire bri net is provided in its t move with the furnace.

larger section, or c i ch a chamber 8, with he hur ierfi, shown detached in Fig. 7,

nozzle 28 connected with with a coupling 27 tor the attachment of the air pipe 23, the oil] V a pedestal 8 grooved on init the 'heat to pass under L c v is also provided with a shocilerlo, which the end of the burner.

air and intensely heated and ignited before entering the combustion chamber, where it is thoroughly consumed. Theblast being downward, lengthwise the, intensely heated combustion chamber, all the carbon is consumed thus producing a practically smokeless furnace.

The crucible 11 is the ordinary graphite crucible in which the metal to be melted is placed. This crucible may be provided with tion of the holding or clamping ring 34 the" ends of which latter are connected by the bolt 35, shown'in Fig. 3. 'This ring 34 is.

provided at diametrically opposite points with pins 39, which rest in the ends of arm 36 secured to shaft 37 journaled in bearings 38 carried by the top casting.

Secured to the pins 39 are the upwardly projecting arms 40, pivotally connected at their upper ends to the links 41, the opposite ends of which are pivotally connected to the upper ends-of the arms 42 secured to the top casting of the furnace. From the foregoing it will be seen that if the shaft 37 be turned by the handle 43, the cover 31 will be elevated to the position shown in Fig. 5 to a tplane in rear of the crucible opening in urnace, the arms 40 and 42 and links 41 revolving the cover during its upward movement so as to bring its hot underside up. and away from the operator.

The crucible 11 is so located within the furnace as to afford an even distribution of the flames and heat on all sides, and thus produce rapid and uniform melting, while the location of the burner at the top of the combustion chamber, for either fuel oil or gas, and directed toward the bottom, is such as to give the longest possible time for the thorough mixing of the heat producing elements, and complete combustion before such elements, and particularly the oxygen of the air can come in contact with the crucible, thus prolonging considerablythe life of the crucible. At the'same time, combustion being practically complete by the time the fuel elements have reached the bottom of the combustion chamber, the greatest amount of heat is developed at that point where it is most used, while the spent gases and clean flame passing up and around the crucible,

serve to heat the upper parts of the latter.

By providing the furnace with an opening 14: at the bottom, and with the burner at the top, any spilled metal due to the breaking of the crucible, or from any other cause, can be poured through the opening 14 without loss and without injuring the burner. Again the location of the burner at the top, and the leading of the heat producing elements to the burner through one of the furnace trunnions, possesses the advantage of a continuous operation of the furnace at an times, as it permits the heating to be con tinued during the pouring operation, thus holding the metal to full heat at all times and prevents any free oxygen reaching the crucible at such times. Even if the firing be discontinued during the pouring operation, practically no free atmospheric air could reach the crucible and chill it or the metal, as the burner is fitted permanently to the body of the casing and consequently moves with the latter. Again the location of the burner at the top of the furnace, and the distance and time of travel of the heat producing elements, permits me to employ air of low pressure for atomizing purposes,

which is decidedly less expensive than compressed air at high pressure.

The construction and operation of the furnace are such that after a crucible has been placed in its chamber, there is no necessity for removing it until it has worn out.

By the use of the crucible and cover, molten metal may be held in good condition and without any material loss in the event the molds are not ready to receive it as soon as melted, and by providing the casing with a removable bottom, the furnace may be tilted upside down and the bottom casting removed for repair and replacement of the lining.

It is evident that many slight changes might be resorted to in the relative arrangement of the parts shown and described without departing from the spirit and scope of my invention hence I would have it 'under-.

1. A crucible furnace comprisin a having a chamber for the crucib e and a combustion chamber in open communication with the crucible chamber, a burner located at the top and projecting downwardly to dischar e into the: combustion chamber, and means or tilting the furnace.

2. Ina furnace the combination with a body having a discharge spout and a crucible chamber, a combustion chamber in open communication with the latter, a pedestal in thercrucible chamber, and a crucible having a discharge spout and mounted on the pedestal with its discharge spout con forming to the discharge spout of the furnace, of a burner discharging into the combustion chamber, and means for tilting the furnace.

3. In a furnace, the combination with a body having a crucible chamber and a combustion chamber communicating with the crucible chamber, the combustion chamber having an opening near its bottom, of a burner discharging into the combustion chamber and means for tilting the furnace.

4-. In a furnace, the combination with a body having a discharge spout, a crucible chamber and a combustion chamber communicating with the crucible chamber, a crucible located within the crucible chamber and terminating with its upper edge approximately in line with the discharge spout of the body, and a cover for the opening in the body of the furnace over the crucible, of a burner discharging into the combustion chamber and means for tilting the furnace.

5. In a furnace, the combination with a body having a crucible chamber and a com municating combustion chamber, of a burner discharging into the top of the combustion chamber, and an opening through the side of the latter adjacent to the bottom thereof.

6. In a furnace, the combination with a body having a crucible chamber open at its top and a combustion chamber in open communication with the crucible chamber, of a cover for the opening in the top of the crucible chamber and means for elevating the cover and moving it rearwardly and turning the cover over while moving rearwardly.

7. A metal melting furnace comprising a casing Whose lower end is closed so as to be capable of holding metal and provided with a pouring gate at its upper end, acrucible seated in said pouring gate and extending down intosa-id casing, means for introducing fuel into the casing from the upper end thereof, and means for tilting the casing whereby the metal will be poured whether contained in the crucible orin the casing.

In testimony whereof, I have signed this specification in the presence oftwo subscribing witnesses.

I WALTER S. ROCKWELL.

Witnesses: i

A. W. BRIGHT,

S. G. NOTTINGHAM. 

